The Lone Princess
by PierceTheVeils
Summary: Diaspro lives a life of duty and obedience, no matter how often she wishes it were not so. No matter how terrible things end up because of it, or how much it hurts her in the process. Done for the Five Things Challenge on WCFC
1. Part One

The Lone Princess

Part One: Royals, Rules, and Roses

Twelve-year old Diaspro crossed her arms, biting her bottom lip unlit it turned red. "Why do I have to do it?"

Her mother, Queen Saphira, glanced down at her with disdain. The look lasted a second, but told her everything she needed to know. The young princess quickly uncrossed her arms, trying to regain the 'ladylike' posture her tutors always praised her on.

It was the king who replied. "The kingdom of Eraklyon has been close allies with us for many years. They see this as a way to bring our partnership closer without joining completely, as we expressed concerns of last year. Since you are the only princess of Isis, you are the only one eligible for what the agreement entails."

"What about Prince Simon?" she argued, dragging her older brother into the discussion.

"Your brother is to become king of Isis, not of Eraklyon. He was the first born; it is his duty."

"And what of Prince Hanson? He is quite the diplomat; you said so yourself." One brother down, one left to try

Her father looked down at her. Once again, Diaspro wished she could've been taller. Looking down upon someone implied they were beneath you, or that was what she was told. But nowadays, it seemed even the lowly servants were able to look down upon her without another thought. "A man and a man cannot marry. You know that from your lessons. And since King Erendor never conceived a daughter, only a princess is fit to marry his child."

"You will marry Prince Sky on your eighteenth birthday, and that is the final word on the matter." Her mother concluded, staring straight ahead.

"I thought you said the engagement could be broken!" Diaspro countered, demeanor slipping. "Why can't we break it right now?"

"Hold your tongue. We will do nothing of the sort."

"A bride cannot break an engagment, Princess." the royal advisor, who'd been silent for most of the meeting, chimed in. "According to Eraki customs, only the man could call off a betrothal, and even then it has to be over a year before the marriage is scheduled to take place."

The king of Isis stood from his lavish gold throne. "The consent was given years ago, and the betrothal was ratified by Eraklyon today. From this moment on, you are predestined to become Queen of Eraklyon. Tomorrow, you will be taken there to live permanently, and shall be placed under the instruction of their tutors. For as long as the betrothal lasts, and later your marriage, you may be courted by no other man, and reversely seek none other as your partner. Prince Sky is a decent young man, and Queen Samera insists he will be a faithful husband. I promised her you will be a dutiful wife and a worthwhile queen, and expect you to uphold our expectations while away."

Diaspro blinked back tears, trying not to linger on the idea that her parents were sending her away. "And what of you... and my brothers? Will they ever visit Eraklyon?" _Will I ever see them again?_

"It is possible, your Highness." the advisor spoke up once more. For seome reason, Diaspro wasn't able to remember his name. "The royal family of Eraklyon are common visitors of our important international councils, meetings, and celebrations, and we are regular guests to theirs."

She nodded politely. "Thank you, sir."

"Your farewell party will be tomorrow morning, you will depart tomorrow evening. Be prepared. Other than that, you are dismissed." The king fell back into his chair. From beside him, Queen Saphira watched, laid out gracefully in her throne of silver like an ornament laid out of a table. One of the many decorations in the large, cirular room.

Diaspro curtsied sharply, stumbling slightly as she rose. She walked out of the room with her head held high, even as the urge to keep it bowed came over her.

She wandered the palace halls, gazing about at the jewel statues. Queens and kings and heroes of ages long ago, all gathered in the palace for an eternal rest. She studied the portraits of founders and conquerors, lords and ladies and royals throughout the ages. From memory, Diaspro recited the name of each and every one, where they had come from, what contributions they'd made to the planet, and when and where they had died.

The farther she traveled into the older sections of the castle, the older the dates became. Soon, she was looking at people whose lives were millenia past. She has to wander through five thousand years to reach the portrait she wanted to see.

Finally, she stood before the painting of a woman. She was beautiful, with her long black tresses and jewels in the shape of flowers running through her hair. Her smile was wide and merry, but her big blue eyes were wide and haunted. Next to her sat a young girl, one who had nothing of her sister's beauty and charm. The little girl's hair was wild with dark curls, so wild nothing could be braided in without getting stuck. Her expression, unlike that of the others, was of a genuine and contagious happiness.

Queen Ariana and her sister, Princess Cristina. While the older princess had stayed within Isis her entire life, working tirelessly to keep the kingdom afloat after her husband died in the war, her little sister had traveled the world, carelessly marrying a merchant who'd stolen her heart. Cristina had been scorned by her subjects, accused of fleeing her duties in their time of need.

But in the end, that hadn't been true. Isis had been on the verge of economic collapse, and right before the kingdom was bankrupt, Princess Cristina had returned with her husband, sitting atop a carriage of solid gold. they'd had to sit on the top because the carriage was full, filled to the brim with money from their adventures. While Queen Ariana lived a life of struggle and failure, Cristina had experienced more freedom than any princess dared, saving the kingdom and living a much longer, much happier life.

Diaspro had loved the story of the two sisters, how one who followed others blindly had suffered while the one who led her own path succeeded. How dearly she wished that could be true once more.

More than once, Diaspro wished she could be a younger sister, free of the responibilities and duties that came with being the only one. She had cousins, true, but it wasn't like they could understand. They weren't the ones who had to help run the kingdom. All they had to do with their lives was smile and find a rich husband to pamper them. They got to pick their husband, too.

Why couldn't she have been a brother, and Simon been Simone? The Crown Princess could've married Prince Sky, and-

Isis would be a province of Eraklyon, when they wanted to remain their own nation. She shook her head That wouldn't work.

What about her other brother Hanson? Why could he have been Princess Hallie, or Hannah, or Helena? Everything could've worked out perfectly, and she would have to marry some bratty little boy she'd never met. He didn't have to be a boy forever, but she already knew he'd never be the man for her.

There was only one man for her. But now, he and Diaspro would be separated forever.

The young princess finally let herself cry. As the tears fell down her cheeks, she pulled out a rose from the fold of her dress. It wasn't the first time a boy had brought their princess a gift, but it was special.

It wasn't a rose made out of rubies, like she was used to receiving, but an actual rose that had once lived. A rose that grew in the ground from seed to bud to bloom, a rose that smelled divine even in death.

The one who gave it to her had been a youngest son, unable to offer any money off of his noble father's estate. But despite this, he'd come after Diaspro anyway, claiming he saw tsomething in her. That while others saw just another princess, a rose fashioned from polished rubies, he'd seen Diaspro, a true rose among all the flashy fakes.

Too bad flashy fakes were the ones that lived forever.

* * *

**A/Ns: Hey everyone! Pierce is back to writing for Winx after so much Percy Jackson (I got hyped up with Blood of Olympus coming out. Too bad I thought the book was a disappointment). Sorry it's not Out of the Darkness (SME's working on that chapter right now, and said she was too busy last week to finish), or A New Reality (I haven't seen T-Duck in a while, and it feels wrong to finish Chapter Three without her input), or Pretty Little Lies (which I plan to update today), but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.**

**This is for the Five Things Challenge on WCFC, and my prompt was 'five times Diaspro wished she had a sister'. I thought it was cool because learning how to write Diaspro would be interesting. Even though I wasn't as focused on the prompt, it was included, so I like it.**

**Uh... I don't have much else to say, other than the fact I really need to finish doing my laundry now. Thanks for reading, please review with any thoughts/comments you have, and I'll see you on the far side**


	2. Part Two

The Lone Princess

Part Two: Scandals, Stories, and Secret Deals

If someone had asked Diaspro to describe her future five years ago, she would've said a lot of things. She would've responded with words like 'queen', 'admired', or even just 'rich'. And to her credit, that was how things looked. Most people probably would've guessed the same thing.

But that wasn't how life worked. Diaspro wasn't going to be queen of anything, she sure wasn't admired by anyone, and, to her eternal surprise, she most certainly wasn't rich anymore. Bail fees weren't cheap, especially when one gets charged with things like 'treason', 'association with known villain', and 'illegal substance possession'.

Diaspro had once considered herself above the law. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

After she finished painting her face, Diaspro pulled her costume out from the back of her closet. She slipped it on, cringing at how revealing it was.

After everything settled and her parents learned what their youngest child had gotten up to, they'd banished her forever, disowned her as a potential Isisian heir, and cut her lifeline completely. Harsh, considering they were the ones who pressured her into trying to reclaim her engagement. If they hadn't insisted she keep trying, Diaspro never would've resorted to desperate measures, and by extension, never gotten in this mess. Unfortunately, her parents hadn't seen things that way.

Diaspro wrapped her exposed body up in a long trench coat, hoping no one would ask questions. Honestly, if it hadn't been for Queen Samara, Diaspro would've been lost.

She was literally the only person who'd ever listened to her side of the story. Even if she hadn't let Diaspro completely off the hook, she agreed it wasn't completely her fault they'd gotten into such a mess. Even though they'd never be family, Samara almost seemed to consider her a daughter. She offered her a job as foreign ambassador to Vallisto, a calm, out of the way planet where she could still use her political skills. She'd had no choice but to take up the position. But payment didn't start until she was actually over there, and the ex-princess needed money. Now.

Leaving her small room behind, Diaspro stepped into the middle of a servant hallway, thankful no one important would see her leaving. They'd all be in the royal dining room, celebrating the death of this year's disaster.

Though Diaspro was eternally grateful to the Eraki queen, she wished for something more. Someone who wouldn't turn on her, someone who would love her by choice, someone who had to listen to her even when they didn't want to. She almost wished she had...

A lover?

Diaspro shook her head, coldly eying a servant couple as they rushed past. All it took was two men to ruin her life. She was done with them.

A friend?

Who would willingly be her friend now? Or ever? Diaspro wasn't stupid, she knew the only reason people had pretended to like her was the status she'd held. Now that the status was gone, they could finally stop pretending.

Even if she was a good person, no one out there would truly care about her. Good people were the ones others took advantage of.

She needed someone who would be connected to her no matter what. Like a family to replace what she'd lost.

She needed a sister.

Diaspro turned into a corner, averting the gaze of all who walked by. Unbidden, a single tear raced down her cheek.

She remembered the story of the two princesses, the one who had duty fail her and the one who ran free. Of the two, she must have been the first.

All her life, Diaspro did what others told her to do. When her father told her not to spend time with Gavan, a noble's youngest son, she'd obeyed, even though it broke his heart.

When a contract told her to go to Eraklyon and marry someone she never met, she'd agreed, even though she didn't want to.

When her engagement fell through, her parents told her to get it back. Even though she felt humiliated, she'd done all she could.

When a stranger told her to cooperate and slip something in Sky's drink, Diaspro had been willing, even if she was suspicious.

And her compliance had failed her, just like it failed her ancestor.

She only wished she could have a Cristina, a sister to come rushing in and relieve her of her problems. But the more she looked at that story, the more she realized how fake it must have been. If recent years were anything to go on, history was written to be misleading, to offer heroes a glowing spotlight and others an unflattering shadow. Diaspro wondered what else was in that story she'd missed.

Calmly, the ex-princess slipped out the castle's back entrance, off again to meet her next scandal. The sun set only after reassuring the world they would see a new day.

But for Diaspro, no promises could be made.

* * *

**A/Ns: Originally, I wasn't going to publish this. It was just a random plot bunny I had and decided not to use, and doubled as an excerise in writing Diaspro's character. But then I decided to edit it and include a longing for sisterhood, and now it's going up for the public.**

**While I don't believe Diaspro is a good person, I don't think she was nearly as bad as the show made her out to be. I also happen to find her more interesting then Bloom, simply because it offers a 'life's not always black and white' story, which is my favorite. Besides, a flawed heroine never killed anyone.**

**So... what do you think Diaspro's up to? I used to have a scene that explained it, but then I decided to leave it open. I'd be curious to hear your guesses.**

**Also, the new Seasonal Competition is up on WCFC! Anyone can sign up, and I'm really excited to see what people have to offer.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, stay tuned for the next update, and I'll see you on the far side!**


	3. Part Three

The Lone Princess

Part Three: Posture, Princes, and Pity

Diaspro didn't understand it.

Who was this girl? Why was she so calm? How could the whole situation not be affecting her?

"Excuse me, miss?" The princess started, hating the way she stammered.

"Hm?" The girl turned to look at her, green eyes steady and sure. "Are you alright?"

_What? Of course not! In case you haven't noticed, I was recently kidnapped! _Diaspro longed to give into her fears, freak out like any normal person would.

But she wasn't normal. She never was, and knew she would never be. So Diaspro held her tongue.

"Hey, calm down," the girl replied, reaching out to touch her. "I'm Flora. You're alright now."

"What happened to me?" Diaspro breathed, trying to calm herself down. This girl was clearly a peasant. Royals were meant to rule, bred superior to the common citizen. Or so she'd been told.

"You were kidnapped under Yoshinoya's orders." Flora explained, glancing out towards the entrance. "He asked for a ransom from Eraklyon. They can't afford what he's asking, though, so Sky set out to rescue you. I'm a friend of his."

Diaspro took a moment to process that. So she was worth more to Eraklyon than she was Isis? After last year, she would've assumed it were the other way around. Then she remembered her parent's reaction. She cringed.

"Why would Sky rescue me?" the princess asked cautiously, trying to seem indifferent. It would've been a good political move, if Sky knew anything at all about politics. All he understood was chasing commoners and playing with swords. It was disgraceful.

Flora tilted her head. "He's a hero. It's his job to help people in need."

"No, he's a king. His job is to serve his country."

"Why can't someone do both?" The commoner asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Isn't keeping people safe part of serving one's country?"

"No, that's..." Diaspro trailed off, growing frustrated. "Where is he?"

Flora got up, peering outside the tent. After a minute, she sat back down. "I guess he's still off, trying to help Bloom."

Bloom. The girl who ruined her life. Why was _she_ hanging around? "What?"

"She used her magic to switch places with you," Flora explained, fixing the princess with a hard stare. "Bloom's the reason we got you out at all."

"But why?" Diaspro stuttered. Bloom had attacked her, stolen her crown, called her a _witch._ Why would she save her life? Why couldn't she have been anyone else?

"Believe it or not, she's really nice," Flora told her, keeping her eyes hard. "Last year was a mistake."

"She ruined everything," Diaspro deadpanned. "My marriage, my political career, my reputation..."

"Hey, she didn't know any more about you than you did her. She thought Sky was Brandon. This isn't her fault."

"She attacked me!"

"She thought you were someone else."

"She's an idiot! I transformed right in front of her, and she still thought I was a witch! Not to mention-"

"Hey."

Diaspro paused, staring at the girl called Flora. She hadn't yelled or screamed, she didn't even look angry. She looked like her old nursemaid, the woman who used to scold Diaspro when she behaved poorly.

"Bloom is my friend. I saw what happened after the Day of the Royals. She was devastated. She left Alfea, because of how horrible she felt. When I say she's a good person, I know what I'm talking about. Can't you see she wants to make it up to you? She's trying to help Sky, and I know she was worried about you. I hope she gets thanked for what she did, but she wouldn't care either way. Bloom's just that great of a person. What more proof do you need?"

Diaspro was shocked. How dare she? How dare this peasant try to scold her, a well bred and respected princess of Isis...

Who lost her livelihood because a man dropped her? Who's entire life and value had been placed on her desirability as a wife? Why would anyone respect _that? _Even most commoners were better than that.

Diaspro swallowed heavily, fighting the tears that stung in her eyes. "Wow. You care a lot about your friends."

Flora nodded. "Bloom's like a sister to me."

"I wish I had a sister like you," Diaspro admitted, fiddling with her hair. Why would she tell someone this?

"Why, are you an only child?"

"No. I have brothers. But I don't know them very well."

"Your life must be very lonely."

"It wasn't always this way," Diaspro protested, trying to keep her tone from whining. "I used to have ladies and nobles and servants all around me, all fighting to get close and become my friend. They would go along with whatever I said, or sometimes convince me to follow their agendas. I knew they were using me, but I thought some of them actually cared, at least after a while.

"But they didn't. Not as a person, anyway. They just wanted to be around me because I was going to be their queen. But now that it isn't happening, they don't have to bother. They can sully me as much as they desire, and I can do almost nothing to punish them."

"Hm," Flora hummed, reaching out to fix Diaspro's hair. She tensed, then relaxed. It felt... nice. Not like her usual servants, with their strong grip and hard hands. Flora wasn't moving her in any specific direction, except out of this mess.

"I'm sorry," the peasant finally said, removing her hand. "None of us ever considered how you must have been feeling."

"No one ever does," the princess whispered. "No one cares. As long as I do what I'm told, there's nothing they need to know."

"No wonder Sky hates it here so much," Flora sighed, taking a seat across from Diaspro. "He cares about you, you know. Not the way you want him to, but as a friend. Breaking the engagment had nothing to do with you. Maybe things can still work out, even if it isn't how you thought it would."

"I find that hard to believe."

"I promise, it's true. Just... don't force yourself on him, okay? Sky's one of those people you can't force to do things. He has to choose."

"I know, but... Ah, it's so unfair," Diaspro broke down, finally letting her composure slip. "I know Bloom's the one who rescued me, but... Ah! I hate her! Why does Sky have to like her? I spent my whole life studying posture, etiquette, court protocol, everything."

"We understand," Flora replied, trying to offer a smile.

"And after all that work, I'm supposed to marry a prince! That's the whole point," Diaspro closed her eyes, trying to imagine a life where that wasn't the plan. It was impossible. Even before she knew about the engagement, it'd always been her future to marry into a throne. What other purpose did the third child of Isis serve? She wouldn't rule at home, she wasn't even needed as backup.

"I know, sweetie. And I'm sorry. It's nothing I can do," the young girl looked genuinely regretful. Diaspro would've appreciated it more if she weren't the only one. "But..."

"What?" Diaspro snapped.

"You said 'a prince'," Flora commented, searching the back of her neck. "So... does it really matter if Sky isn't the one? You're still young, and there are a lot of kingdoms in the Magic Dimension. It may not be as tidy as the deal with Eraklyon was, but it could still happen?"

"After word gets out about my rejection?" Diaspro scoffed. "Please. Who would want someone after that happened? I read the news, I know what people think of me."

Flora threw her hands in the air. "I can't help someone who doesn't want it. Let's just forget about it, okay?"

"Fine," Diaspro concluded, not bothering to change the subject. Flora never made the effort either, preferring to watch the outside for signs of life.

For a moment, Diaspro thought about apologizing. Then she thought better of it. Why bother with a peasant girl? She was a princes, and she would prove it. She could suffer setbacks. Pretty soon, she'd be back on her feet, no matter what.

Diaspro wasn't going to be forced into something. Not again. She was going to take a leaf out of Sky's book, next time around.

She knew it for a fact: sooner or later, Diaspro would be queen of Eraklyon.

* * *

**A/Ns: Oh Diaspro, come on. That's not the lesson you were supposed to learn! Ugh, you were so close to being a good character, if not a hero. But no, you _had_ to take the wrong path. I wanted so much more from you, and you disappointed me.**

**Sorry, but that about sums up my feelings on her. Even if I won't contradict canon in this challenge, I will be adding character depth. I'm sick of her only existing as Bloom's foil. I don't hate Bloom, but I do hate what she did here. I can't fully blame anybody for this situation: in a way, Sky, Bloom, and Diaspro all caused the issue to get as bad as it got. They can all share the blame. And yet, people blame only one person. It drives me nuts.**

**That being said, this wasn't what I was planning to do. Still, I sorta shot myself in the foot when I jumped all the way to S3 in the last one. I can't go in chronological order, so now everything is random.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this update. Thanks for reading, please review, and I'll see you on the far side!**


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